FOLLOWING THE RING
by Rufferto
Summary: Merry passes the test of the ring. 66. COMPLETED and REVISED.
1. CHAPTER ONE

Fic Name : FOLLOWING THE RING.  
  
Pairing : NO SEX.  
  
Rating : PG-13  
  
Timeline : Lothlorien, after Gandalf dies.  
  
Synopsis : Merry deals with a spirit in Lothlorien who tempts him to the side of evil so that he will take the ring from Frodo. Note : This was once a longer story. I am revising all my stories and the story that continues Following the Ring will have its own title for its focus is not entirely upon Merry.  
  
Disclaimer : I don't claim to own anything or make any money. Suing me will not do any good, you'd get a quarter at the most. Tolkien owns the pretty hobbits.  
  
4/1/2  Revised 10/11/03  
  
   
  
Meriadoc Brandybuck was well regarded as being the kind of hobbit that had all the answers.  To his friends and family, he was known as "Merry". He had joined the fellowship because Frodo Baggins was not only one of his very good chums, but also his cousin as well.  Therefore, he was not about to let the intrepid hobbit go off to dark places on his own. Several months had already passed since they left the shire, and now they had finally made it to Galadriel's realm of Lothlorien.  Above a bright and full moon shone in the night sky, causing the trees around to glitter and sparkle, a truly magical site.  He had been resless after Legolas spoke of the lament and Sam's poetry.  He had needed to get away from the others, and have a smoke.   Rest, Aragorn had said, but the ranger did not know the troubles in his heart.  
  
   
  
What happened in the mines of Moria had given the heir of Brandy Hall a rather rude awakening.  He wasn't on an adventure with Frodo, this was bigger than that.  This was bigger than all of them, and he -was- afraid.  He remembered the way Galadriel had looked at them all when she spoke about company being true to one another.  What if they failed? What if they could not learn how to resist temptation?  
  
   
  
Smoking his pipe absently, he leaned against a tree as he listened to the lamenting voice.  Their song filtered through the wood throughout the night, dedicated to the ancient wizard.   So lost in his own thoughts he did not see her as she approached, coming out of nowhere like a faint breeze.  He hadn't even realized she was there until she spoke.  
  
   
  
"Why do you continue to ignore what is in your heart?" Her silvery voice was immediately from right, and he started looking over at the elf.  How could she have snuck up on him like that? He was usually hard to sneak up on, always alert. He did realize that they were in Lorien, and these were elves. Indeed, they were special elves for the most part, as he had been told.    
  
   
  
"Who are you?" Merry demanded, quite colder than he had meant to as he disliked being spied on. His voice was not entirely sharp, but the trials of late, and the journey had taken a great deal of his patience.  He had not the desire to hold back his tongue.  
  
   
  
"All that really matters is that I am here." she regarded Merry calmly, with eyes that flickered like the stars themselves.  She was a seer perhaps...like Galadriel, for she bore that kind of aura.  His spine tingled when she came closer to him, nervously turning his pipe from one hand to the other.  "You have been curious about the One Ring since the day you saw Bilbo vanish. That day, Merriadoc, changed your life." her words floated like whispers, and cut like the sharpest of blades as they dug into his soul.  
  
   
  
"My only concern is to make sure my friends get through this safely." Merry responded irritably.  He also did not like being told what he thought about something. His Aunts at Brandy Hall used to do that all the time.  He made his own destiny, and his mind was his own, so no elf witch or seer was going to tell him otherwise.  
  
   
  
She was beautiful, as all elves were.  Merry could not help but feel self-conscious as his eyes were drawn to her.  She was slight and pale with hair the color of winter and as soft as a rose petal.  It was a deep contrast to her eyes which were as dark and forboding as the black of the night sky.   "One by one…they will fall. It is written.  You can already see it. I know." she spoke softly, "You are worried about Frodo, and if you will be able to protect him from the others.  You are even worried if you will be able to protect him from yourself when the time comes."  
  
   
  
Merry shifted, dragging his eyes away from the she-elf who seemed to be a cross between a dream and a nightmare.  "I know what I have to do. I know what my choice must be."  He knew what she was getting at, for he had been concerned and still was.  He had often wondered what it would be like to put on the ring, what he would see. Curiosity had burned in his heart ever since he saw Bilbo vanish that day.   He refused though, to dwell on what he might or might not do. If he did that he would never be able to get through this.  He had to keep his vision clear and focused on helping his cousin, and he would. He had no illusions or fantasies about taking the ring for himself. He did not.  
  
   
  
"Aye you know what it must be, but you do not yet accept what you -want- it to be.  You've known it since the day you saw Bilbo put on the Ring, Merriadoc Brandybuck. You heard its call then as you are hearing it now. You are following it, deep in your heart it beckons you and you do not know whether or not you will be able to resist it when the time comes. You remain in the background because you fear of coming forward for you know where that might lead."  
  
   
  
Merry turned around angrily, in his eyes a terrible truth was reflected that he had kept at bay until now. "Listen to me, whoever you are.  You don't know me. You don't know me at all. I don't -want- the ring. I want my friends to be safe. I want the Shire to be safe. I'm not here for the greater glory of Middle Earth, or for the One Ring, or for…" he scowled, curls falling into his sparking eyes. "Please just leave me alone."  
  
   
  
"Merriadoc Brandybuck, you must decide why you are where you are.   Until you can, you won't be able to help your friends." she turned away swiftly. "Alone, I will leave you. For now."  
  
   
  
Suddenly, she was gone, stepping easily down the path, no sound in her wake.  Merry was left staring after her in stunned silence until Pippin's cheerful voice cut into his reverie with a loud and jaunty. "Hey Merry! Supper!" Merry shook his head, clearing it as he turned to his cousin. It had not taken Pippin long to return to normal, but that was Pippin. Food always cheered him up.  
  
? 


	2. CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO  
  
Merry had not eaten much during the meal, his eyes had felt a little heavy throughout it all. He, Frodo and Sam were all together at the table, and he noticed that Frodo was all but picking at his food as well.  Their eyes met and it was clear to the Brandybuck that something was amiss with his cousin, more so than worry. Deep fear lay in the back of Frodo's eyes, fear and sorrow. He did not know whether or not they could continue without Gandalf.  
   
"Are you alright Merry? You haven't even touched the little flowery bread thingies. You'd like them, especially with this sauce. Here...try.." Pippin nudged his cousin encouargingly. "Come -on-. You haven't had hardly anything to eat all day. I know you haven't."  
   
"Lay off it, Pip." Merry said irritably, and immediately regretted his words for a hurt look entered his cousin's eyes and the younger hobbit turned away to Sam, who -was- eating. Thus effectively hiding his feelings as Pippin was wont to do.   
   
Merry grumbled and looked at his plate again, snatching a piece of fowl and stuffing it into his mouth.  Honestly, all Pippin seemed to think about was food.  Then he shook his head, no, that wasn't true. There was much more to his cousin, much more, and Merry well knew. He wasn't being fair. He gave a sigh. "Sorry, Pip. I'm not myself. Didn't mean to snap."  
   
"Its alright, Merry." Pip said cheerfully. Now that he had a huge table laid out in front of him, the youngest of the hobbits was quite thoroughly satisfied. He would at least be getting some sleep.   
   
Frodo glanced at Merry, puzzled by his demeanor.  Merry had always been his 'rock'. The one who never changed, the one who had all the answers. Nothing ever seemed to phase him or to bring him down.  Merry was always Merry, and yet now...something was wrong. It was more than just Gandalf's death which weighted heavily on Frodo's mind and heart. It was something more. He seemed jumpy and nervous, looking over his shoulder far too much as though he expected something to leap out at him.  
   
"Merry..." Frodo began, but he didn't know what to say.  His cousin looked over at him with a guarded expression, fingers figiting with his fork as played with some of the vegetables upon his plate.  Frodo's eyes dropped at he took a deep breath. "Merry I'm glad your here." he said very softly, his voice quiet enough that no one else could hear.    
   
Merry shifted uncomfortably upon his chair. Would he really be glad if he knew what was going on in his friend's mind and heart? Doubtless he would not. This close to Frodo, Merry could feel the ring, and he could feel the eyes of others upon them, even though when he looked up no one seemed to be watching them.  Galadriel smiled calmly in his direction and he rose from the table. "I need to go for a walk." he said apologetically to his friends.   
   
Frodo frowned when Merry abruptly left, unsure of what he might have said to cause such a reaction. The elder hobbit then resolved to figure out what was going on with his oldest friend and excused himself from the table, citing a desire to relieve himself.    
   
He shadowed his cousin for a little while down one path and watched him stop suddenly. Merry's eyes shifted off into the forest as though he was seeing something.  Then, he turned...away from the path and began to walk hurriedly into the trees!  
   
Frodo's mouth opened as though to call to his friend, but he bit his lip.  They were alone now and he wasn't sure yet what was in Merry's mind.  Was it the Ring? Frodo hoped it wasn't. Merry was one of the few people he could really trust and when it came down to it, the Ringbearer didn't know if he could fight Merry if the hobbit turned on him.  The decision to follow his cousin came very quickly when he heard Boromir's voice speaking to someone else somewhere behind him. Frodo had no desire to be caught alone with the man.  He should not be afraid of his companions, he should not. But after what Galadriel had implied.  He shuddered and hurried after his cousin who was now moving farther and farther away from the city. 


	3. CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE  
  
Frodo followed Merry through the trees for about fifteen minutes until they came upon a clearing. Throughout the walk, Merry had kept his hands shoved in his pockets, and did not look behind him. He did not seem to even realize that Frodo was behind him. It was almost as if he knew where he was going.  Frodo ran his hands through his curls, that was impossible, for Merry had never been to Lothlorien. The ringbearer had decided it might be best to wait and keep behind until it was the proper moment to step in.  
  
   
  
Merry was not walking aimlessly. He had spied the elleth during the feast and attempted to resist her for a long time.  She had beckoned to him, and he had been unable to resist.  So, now he followed her through the forest, his mind clearly focused though his heart screamed trouble.  They came upon a small clearing in the forest, a secluded and cool amid the serenity of the tall trees and mysterious warmth of the Lady's realm. In the center of the clearing there rested a pedestal carved with leaves and thorny vines.   Upon it was a jade colored urn, crafted from the rare mineral itself.   Elvish runes glittered in the moonlight all about the pedestal, seeping into the etched words.  The light of the moon shone brilliantly down upon them, illuminating the quiet place.   
  
   
  
Frodo paused, catching his breath when Merry seemed to stare at the urn and speak...to something. "I followed you here." Frodo at first thought Merry might be talking to him, but it was soon clear that he had no idea that he had been followed himself.   
  
   
  
"I want to know what you meant." Merry continued. He stuck his chin out defiantly, looking up at whatever was there.    
  
   
  
Then suddenly, to the ringbearer's surprise, he saw a flash of sparkling light, and there was now an elleth before the Urn. She was touching it gently with her hand, caressing the runes with her fingers.  Her eyes lifted to meet Frodo's eyes because she knew that he was there. Somehow...she knew. He shivered….her eyes bore far too deep into his heart…. but her voice was directed to Merry. "You have now walked into a scared place. I knew it was going to be you. I have waited for you for a very long time."   
  
   
  
Frodo knew something was wrong, almost immediately.  This elleth was not what she seemed.  He saw something within the elf, something dark, a chill came to his lungs and he found it difficult to breathe.  An illusion had been cast, and Merry could not see it. Her eyes...they were deep pools of black, writhing with glittering light, almost hypnotizing.   He fingered the ring in his pocket nervously and was about to call out to Merry but no words left his throat. He should move...he should run. This was not right. Unfortunately, his legs were rooted to the spot, and he could not move.   He struggled, but in vain.  
  
   
  
"Who are you?" Merry asked the elleth, circling the urn. He might have seen Frodo, had he not been blinded by the vision before him.  Indeed, even when he turned to look where Frodo was, he saw nothing but the silent trees.  
  
   
  
She answered him simply, "I am all that you wish for, and everything you fear." She leant down to touch Merry's cheek, causing him to shiver from the chill of it.   Her fingers were like ice.   
  
   
  
"If you do not tell me, I am leaving." he declared, still defiant, though he knew nothing would make him leave now.  "I do not want to play games or hear words that are not words. Speak plainly."  He flinched as a strange pang of hunger struck him, deep within his stomach.  It had come up all of a sudden and he wondered why he had not noticed it before. Then again, he really hadn't eaten all that much that day. He turned and began to walk out of the clearing.  His head hurt, and his mouth was very dry...he needed a drink.   
  
   
  
Behind him a smell rose, a glorious smell, and Meriadoc stopped. He should not look around, he should just leave. This was beyond him.  He could not resist, and so turned to open his eyes wide as a table was laid out near the urn.  It was piled high with scrumptious hobbit dishes, everything from buttered rum bread to savory mashed potatoes with spices he had sorely missed.   "You do not want to go, and why should you? When your desires can be all quenched here." she said calmly.  
  
   
  
Frodo shivered at the words. How could this be deep in the heart of Lothlorien? But the Ring...the ring was evil. He remembered Haldir's words "You Bring Great Evil Here." Had this been his fault? Had he disturbed what was better left alone? Strider...he needed to find Strider. But...her magic held him and he could do nothing but watch with his eyes wide in anxious fear. Merry...be strong. There was -one- way he could break free of the spell. He could put on the ring...Did he dare to do that in Lothlorien itself?  
  
   
  
Merry nodded, wiping his mouth as he found himself drawn to teh table.  He did not eat anything yet, food didn't just appear.  He was more than a little suspicious, and was certainly not his cousin who would have dived right into it.  "First tell me who you are, and what you want with me? You came up to me…and seemed to know all about me. I want to know why you came to me."    
  
   
  
Frodo struggled to find a way out of his predicament other than the obvious solution. He couldn't do that, not here, not after everything that had happened…there must be another way…there had to be another way…Maybe nothing would happen to Merry...maybe everything would be all right.  Sweat beaded upon his brow as he struggled.   
  
   
  
She laughed lightly, it was not a terribly unkind laugh, but it was not one that would cause a hobbit to trust you either. "Very well, young hobbit. I am Lithilorn." she spoke only to Merry, but Frodo could hear her words as if they were in his own head. "Lithilorn, Half-Elvin. Cousin to Celeborn, once of this world, but now no more. I chose a mortal life, you see. They have chosen this place to keep a guard on my soul, and I have been here since my death, 4000 years ago."   
  
   
  
"I thought all elves went to the west upon their death…and were later reborn…" Merry blinked at her in some confusion., rubbing the back of his neck.  He was having trouble focusing, his stomach warring with his mind as he cleared his throat of the dryness that seemed stuck there now.  
  
   
  
"Only those whose souls are willing to leave the land, Merry. I was not, you see, and because I chose to fight fate, so now I am doomed to wander this land in shadow. But if you help me, I will help you." her hand swept to the table, "Eat."   
  
   
  
"Is this a dream?" Merry shivered, trying very hard to clear his mind. His hand rested upon the edge of the table, an unsteady grip at best…He felt like his brain was stuffed full with cobwebs because he couldn't think straight. "I don't understand…How will you help me?"  
  
   
  
Frodo finally couldn't stand it any longer, he was not letting that…creature take his friend. He slipped the ring on…and the spell was broken. But in setting himself free….he opened himself to another evil….That was when he saw her true form…   
  
   
  
To Be continued….   
  
   
  
Author's note : Lithilorn is not a character made up by Tolkien… 


	4. CHAPTER FOUR

Chapter Four  
  
Merry rested his hand against the table top as he gazed at the elleth tempting him. Struggling to clear his mind and his senses it felt almost as though he might be asleep.  Maybe he was and he just didn't know it. It was almost like a dream, a hallucination perhaps? He hadn't been sleeping well since Moria and it was not entirely impossible.   
  
   
  
Frodo had no choice now, for he must save his friend!  He had to get out of the spell.  Taking a deep breath he pulled the ring from his pocket and slipped it on. Almost immediately, his eyes began to adjust to reality.  The illusion was dropping and the site before him caused him to drop to the ground petrified.  It was no elleth that stood before Merry, it was almost like the ringwraiths in appearance. She was constructed of whispy fearsome light, deadly frigid and colder than the ice of Caradrahas.  The Witch King's face rose into his mind and he trembled, closing his eyes and trying to think of anything else but the pain in his shoulder. He strove to drive the fear away, to pull himself together.  He had to have the strength to take the ring off, he had to keep his senses.  But, he was so horrified, and the pain was so intence...he could barely rise.   
  
   
  
She knew…her form was as great and terrible as the wraiths when he first saw them, but altogether different.  Beautiful and somehow intriguing as she beckoned him to come closer.  In the world of the ring he saw Merry's shadow, reaching out towards something upon the table and then he screamed.  
  
   
  
It twas no hobbit feast.  There were no fresh tomatoes or spicy potatoes.  There were no mushrooms, breads, meats and pies, there was nothing upon that table that would wet the appetite of anyone made of flesh and blood.   
  
   
  
What he saw made him want to flee, to run far and away from there. It was a writhing, wiggling mass of things better not spoken of for it chilled him straight to the bone The entity was devised of thousands of broken beings  churning and squirming as one, seeing without site. It seemed to reach out towards Merry but was lashed to the table by shadows. It was all kinds of parts of many different things. Somehow…they had all come together as one…a collection of evil. He cried out again, but no sound came from his lungs…nothing but his breath in the cold. His lips began to chatter as he rose, moving forward.  He tried to pull off the ring now that he was free of the spell, crying Merry's name.   
  
   
  
Merry glanced back into the wood, frowning suddenly, he thought he might have heard something in the distance. A cry? Perhaps it was only his imagination. He held an Tomato in the palm of his hand thoughtfully and turned to the elleth who was watching him with clear…provocative eyes. "Tell me." he said. "How will you help me to choose, and what price comes from this help? What must I do for you?"   
  
   
  
Merry was no fool. He knew that something was not quite right. He also…wasn't quite certain that she was what she seemed.  He was really too tierd though to see anything more than someone who could help get rid of the self-doubt that was building in his heart. The terror that one day he might attack his friend, and take the One Ring for himself.   
  
   
  
The elleth clasped her hands together, she was still watching Frodo's struggle while weaving her spell around his friend. Merry did not bite yet, not quite so impulsive as Pippin, steadfast as Sam, or easily intimidated as Frodo "I chose you because I knew that you needed what I had to give the most. Because of this…you had the power to free me from this cursed existence. You think that you can win against your own mind on your own, but the One Ring does not take its victims easily, like a slayer in the night. It tempts them and woos them, by promises it will never keep. If you are not prepared…if you are not ready…you will lose, and yea…your hand may be the one to strike down the Ringbearer."   
  
   
  
"I do not doubt that you can, but at what cost to me? What must I do?" Merry said again, starting to get more and more tired.  He turned the Tomatoes over in his hand.  He shivered. He was so hungry and tired, all he wanted to do was sleep.  
  
   
  
Between him and Merry, five dark shapes glided towards Frodo, servants of the shadow world that the Elleth lived in. They were not ring wraiths, and neither was she. They were shadows and darkness, forms and shapes from nightmare…and they began to surround him. He could hear their laughter, muffled in his mind. Their long, jagged claws lashed out with blinding speed and searing pain shot through his skin every time the claws connected.  They taunted him….calling him into the shadows, enticing him to give up and to leave the ring on. If only he gave in…the pain would stop.   The eye was near, but for some reason it could not penetrate the protection of Lothlorien, it was looking for him, he could feel it.   He summoned all the courage in the heart and thought of the one thing that could help him. Gandalf. Gandalf had not died so they could be defeated by shadows in Lorien. "Merry!" the anguished cry came from his lips, finally managing to pierce the barrier between shadow and light. As another blow came, Frodo finally pulled the ring off and fell to the ground in pain, suddenly there for all to see.  
  
   
  
"The Cost, Meriadoc Brandybuck…" she begins…smiling as she sees Merry's eyes begin to glaze over, the trials of the past . "There is no cost to you…you simply accept what you have to do. I *can* help you…all you have to do…" The gleeful gaze that lights in her eyes was a terrible thing to behold as Merry bit into the Tomatoe, and she smiled at Frodo in triumph.  "And look there..." Merry turned to see his friend upon the ground with eyes that were not his own.  "See what is your reward?"  
  
   
  
Frodo clutched his shoulder, tears building in his eyes from the pain that wracked his body.  Each place the shadows had touched him throbbed and burned, but there was no blood nor wounds. Was he too late? He looked at the "tomatoe" in Merry's hand. "Nooooo!" Frodo cried out, launching himself forward with all the strength he had left within, barreling into Merry in a way that would have made Sam proud. "Spit it out!" he shook his friend with all the will he could gather.   
  
To Be Continued 


	5. CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE  
   
Frodo was wracked with pain as he looked desperately at his friend, holding his shoulders. "Merry! Spit it out! You mustn't eat it."   
   
Merry stared at Frodo, a queer sort of smile on the edge of his lips.  Poor Frodo had taken too long to fight the shadows…for his cousin had already swallowed. The expression on his friend's face indicated that he was aware that something was happening.   That he might be facing his death. "Well Frodo.." he coughed, pounding his chest once with a slight fist.  He had swallowed already, there was no way to stop what was about to happen.   "Well.. You'll….You'll keep an eye on Pippin…won't you?" His eyes were beginning to cloud over, his skin was becoming wretchedly cold, cracking a little around his face.  He started to gasp for breath, as though he was dreadfully thirsty.   
   
"Of course I will, but do not talk like that!" Frodo cried. "Merry…please don't let it take you…" Sadly, there was not enough pleading in this world that could stop the inevitable. Merry's eyes lost site of reality, and the younger hobbit's body collapsed into his elder cousin's arms, unmoving.  Frodo's eyes filled with tears as he tried to shake Merry out of the trance he had seemed to fall into. "Merry!" His eyes were too bright and his skin was like ice, but his heart was solidly beating, the only sound louder than his own. Was it really too late? What game was afoot here? Frodo's eyes blazed with anger as he turned to the wraith.  "What have you done to him!?!" His plaintive voice spat.  
   
The elleth's gaze sparkled with a dire light as she studied the Ringbearer. "I have simply given him a taste of what it would be like to be you should the One Ring consume you…to help him to make his choice." she steps back. "I have given him what he wanted; the help he needed to make his choice when the time comes." she places her own hands together. "And so in return…he will set me free at last."   
   
"What do you mean..." Frodo cried, gathering Merry in his arms protectively despite the pain that laced through his small body. "I don't understand…" he felt his friend's cheeks anxiously.  They remained pale and cold, almost lifeless, his beating heart fading with every passing moment.  "Fight it…" he begged Merry helplessly. But who was Frodo to tell someone to struggle against the powers of darkness? He could barely help himself let alone help another to fight the shadows.  He was no teacher, he was not Gandalf.  He had barely enough strength to lift Merry up.   How was he going to help Merry? He looked up in anguish….Merry's head gently fell against his shoulder.   
   
The table that had held the food of souls vanished first.  All that remained was the tomato that Merry had bitten into. It lay on the ground for a moment, and then collapsed into a dark mass of writhing worms, scuttling away into the shadows. As Frodo watched, the Wraith began to fade. "Soon…" she nodded grimly, her essence swirling back into the vase…. "There's not much time left…not much time at all."   
   
Tears fell from Frodo's eyes as he gazed down at his friend. He couldn't lose him…not so soon after Gandalf.  If he failed Merry, how could he go on? How could he continue to fight as every one of his friends fell around him? Merry began to shiver, an wind of ice passed through both of them and he knew that his friend was struggling. Was there a way to help him? He was a lot stronger in the shadow realm though it filled him with fear and terror.  Here in Lorien, the eye could not see him.  He could lift Merry and take him away.  But...this would mean putting on the ring and going into that realm again. That would mean… willingly going up against the shadows.  He drew the ring from its chain out of his pocket and eyed it. It was what the enemy wanted. She wasn't Sauron though, she wasn't one of them. Perhaps he could deal with her on her own level.  
   
He struggled, trying to think of something else…anything else. He didn't want put it on again so soon after the last time.  The shadows servants of the Elleth had taken more from him than he could replenish in so short a time. On the other hand, if he did not, Merry might die? Merry would become a wraith if he failed in this, something he coudl not allow. The Elleth's words rang in his head, and he took slow, easy breaths, attempting to prepare himself. There was nothing else that he could do, for there was no way he coudl get help in time even if he knew how to. This time he woudl have to rely on himself and his own wits.    
   
His resolve began to fail as he tried to talk himself out of it.  Fear gripped his heart, refusing to let go, he didn't want to put on the ring. Every time he did, it caught him deeper and deeper, spiraling him down into the realm of darkness. He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to resist it. It seemed to feed off of his confusion, off of his resolve and off of his very soul. It warred with everything good within him.  
   
He began to clear his mind, trying to think of only good things. He tried hard to find the light in the darkness, to find the reason why this was happening.  This time, it was elusive, and just out of reach.  He remembered Gandalfs words about dong something with the time that you have. He could not fail Merry. It was when the wizards words came to him that he heard Merry begin to cough, as though he was trying desperately to breathe.  A twisted expression upon his face seemed to indicate that something was trying to strangle him. Time was up. He looked down at the ring and grimaced, slipping it on.  
   
When that moment came, the shadows rose all around him again, claiming dominance over the light, save for one thing. Frodo was going to remain true to Merry, like all the members of the Fellowship did for him. Even Boromir, for Frodo was finally beginning to understand the way the ring could drive you mad.  
  
To Be Continued… 


	6. CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX  
  
In the shadows, Frodo could see what was happening, a tendril had wrapped itself around Merry's throat, choking the life out of him.  He saw the creatures as they were, and the female wraith waiting in the background, smiling with glee as she saw Frodo now helpless in her realm.  Frodo scowled, he was not helpless.  Whoever wore the ring, was never helpless...never.  "You shall not take him!" Frodo cried out.   They were getting closer.  He tried to figure out what to do, he was not Gandalf, he was not a wizard.  He could not fight magic.   He finally looked down at the elvish sword in its hilt, and wondered. Sting was made by the elves, and the elves had great magic. Would it?   
  
Without thinking anymore on it, Frodo drew the blade and cringed as a flash of white light nearly blinded him. His eyes became focused once again and he saw that Sting was glowing white and not blue in the Shadow Realm.  He took a deep breath, and hoped against hope, slicing down against the tendril.  To his great surprise, it was cut clean in two, and fell harmlessly from Merry's neck. As more came towards him, he cut and slashed at each one, despite the horrific screaches that were coming from the creatures of shadow who attacked him.  Frodo breathed heavily, sustaining a wound from a claw to his arm but still keeping them from his friend who was slipping away even now.  
  
"Do not fade, Merry...Open your eyes, open them I say. I can take you back if you open them. Think of something good...the Shire. Think of why we are here. You cannot die, Merry, I need you. Pippin needs you..."  Frodo panted as the shadows stopped attacking him for a little while, his eyes darting around and focusing on the wraith.    
  
She was looking directly at Frodo, now, eyeing his shoulder menacingly.  The dead elleth spoke a few words and the ringbearer howled, forced to drop Sting and to collapse to the ground.  Frodo writhed, clutching the old wound as it throbbed as though it was just made. "Merry..." he gasped, before he could no longer form coherant words, and his breathing became rapid and shallow.   
  
Merry's eyes fluttered open and he coughed, disoriented at best. What had happened? Where was he? His eyes searched the area and they fell immediately upon Frodo, then the ring, and then the elleth as he staggered to his feet.  He did not see a wraith, he saw the beautiful creature who had lured him to her gravesite.    
  
"Take the ring, Merry." She said softly, "Take the ring and his sword, and strike the urn that binds me." Her eyes glittered, "I wish to be free of this world, I have been bound here long enough."  
  
"Do not believe her Merry, she is trying to trick you..." Frodo gasped out, cringing again as he was wracked with pain.  "It was all a trick, to lure us here. To use you..." he choked, clawing at the ground as he tried desperately to steady himself.  
  
Merry glanced at Frodo, then back at the elleth. He struggled with the desire to obey the elleth, the pull of the ring and all that was evil in the land.  But, as he was a hobbit, hobbits were far more resistant to evil than most.  There was one person that he thought of, one clear face that came to mind as well as the beautiful land of the Shire, and she gave him the strength he needed to recognize friend from foe.  
  
"This is my test." he said softly. "You said you would help me to choose, and you have." The heir of brandyhall straightened. He approached the prone form of his cousin, bending down as Frodo tried to struggle away from him. He ran his hands through his curls and looked at his cousin, smiling slightly.  "Its alright, Frodo." he whispered. "Its me, I'm back..." he looked back at the Elleth again. his expression changing and he reached down to pick up Frodo's sword, and held it over the elder hobbit, to his neck, as though he meant to kill.  
  
However, Merry suddenly spun around and flung the sword thruogh the air towards the Elleth, a great shriek came from her and the other creatures who surrounded them. Merry collapsed to his knees and Frodo was released from the spell, so he was able to move again.  The elder hobbit looked at Merry in amazement when his friend smiled. "I choose you, Frodo. Not the ring. Lets get out of here, quickly."  
  
They locked hands and Frodo removed the ring even as the elleth wraith seemed to explode into a blinding light, shards of her urn sailing towards them, but vanishing as soon as they were away from the shadow realm.  Merry glanced towards the urn, it had been broken, Sting lying next to it, and there was no sign of the elleth. "Merry!" Frodo struggled to his feet and slipped the ring away, reaching out to hug his cousin.  
  
The two hobbits shared a brief tender moment as they hugged and then parted. Frodo winced slightly, for his arm now bore a scratch which did not bleed a great deal, but was still very painful.  "How did you do it? How did you break free of the trap?"  
  
"I thought of the dearest things in the world to me." Merry said softly, "And my fondest wish. When I saw this, I saw the elleth for what she truly was. Evil. I thought of Stella, the lass my mother wants me to marry, I daresay that I am quite fond of the idea as well.  I thought of the Shire and all the reasons why the ring had to be destroyed. And I thought of you, cousin, and everything you had been to, and of my words when you first allowed us to follow you."  
  
Frodo could not help but laugh, inspite of everything. "Stella...I thought so. I was not sure. She'll make you a fine wife, Master Brandybuck. And yes, a finer friend I could not have and you are my friends, you Sam and Pippin.  I could not have done this or gotten this far if you were not with me."  He then wheezed, feeling quite faint from the entire episode.  
  
"We should return and have someone look to your wound."   
  
"It is not bad, just a scratch, but you are right. We should not linger here."  
  
"What will we tell the others?" Merry asked, going to retrieve Sting for his cousin.   
  
"We tell them nothing." Frodo said with determination. "I fell and scratched myself on tree bark. That is all." He took Sting and sheathed it.   Merry reached over to lay a hand on his cousin's shoulder and they shared a look of understanding.    
  
So the pair returned to Lorien to leave evil behind, not discovering the fate of the elleth, but knowing for sure that at least one member of the fellowship had passed the test of the ring. Perhaps indeed she -had- aided him as she had promised, and as such, Merry had finally released her from her bounds to the realm of Arda. Released her to her final rest, despite the evil deed she had committed in the past which caused her suffer the fate she did. But that, is another story.  
  
THE END. 


End file.
